The underlying rationale for this Core facility is that a single, well- designed large animal research facility can effectively and economically meet the needs of several projects. Within the framework of a common physical facility, it is not in the interest of economy and uniform standards of animal care for each user to provide separately for animal husbandry and research needs. Given this rationale, the objective of the Sheep Research Core is to provide a mechanism whereby a common facility with common personnel is shared efficiently by all investigators who wish to use sheep to perform research focused on the reproductive sciences. To this end, the Sheep Research Core will provide a physical facility for maintaining and conducting experiments on sheep, coordinate effective and economical usage of sheep including a uniform high standard of animal maintenance and veterinary care, and perform technical services and offer training.